The Scottish Socialist Party wishes everyone a happy International Womens Day.

The Socialist Womens Network will be holding a demonstration outside Corton Vale Women's prison.

Demonstration
Saturday 12th March at 12 noon.
Bus leaves Waverley Bridge, Edinburgh at 10.00 am.

Bring your pals, kids and pots and pans!
let's make some noise!

More info:

Cornton Vale

Many of the women in Cornton Vale women’s prison should not be there. The
chief inspector of prisons reports that, ‘90 per cent of admissions have
addiction problems, 80 per cent have a history of mental illness and over 60
per cent have a history of being abused. The question has to be asked: what
will the prison do for them?’

Poverty

A recent Scottish Prison Service report restates clearly that the key cause
of crime in general is poverty: 155 of the poorest areas in Scotland provide
half of the country’s prison population. In Cornton Vale, almost half of
the women are in custody for defaulting on fines, fines that many simply
cannot afford to pay. The average of these fines is £214 - hardly evidence
of a hardened criminal.

Scottish Socialist Party

SSP MSP Carolyn Leckie was recently imprisoned in Cornton Vale because she
refused to pay a fine imposed on her because of a peaceful protest at
Faslane Nuclear base. Carolyn described conversations with other prisoners
who told of strip searching, prison clothes that didn’t fit and communal
showers and toilets with half doors you could see over and male prison staff
in attendance. What we need are more appropriate programmes and facilities
in communities throughout Scotland, with equal access to help and support
for all women.

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day (8th March) celebrates the gains made by women but
also causes us to recognise just how much we still have to fight for. Join
with us in calling for a change to the prison system and a change to the
wider system that reproduces poverty, inequality and injustice.